SHINee to proceed with Japanese tour after Jonghyun's death

Jan. 9 (UPI) -- South Korean boy band SHINee will proceed with its Japanese tour in the wake of Jonghyun's death.

The K-pop group's remaining members announced in handwritten letters posted on the SHINee website Tuesday that they will perform as planned in February.

Onew, Key, Minho and Taemin will take the stage at their SHINee World The Best 2018 - From Now On concerts in Tokyo and Osaka. The news follows Jonghyun's death at age 27 of an apparent suicide.

"Many people are worried about us, but we decided to do the planned Japanese shows," Key wrote, according to Billboard.

"This decision is something that Jonghyun would want from us, and I believe that it's the most SHINee-like thing to do, to keep our promise to the fans and put on great performances," he explained.

Jonghyun, born Kim Jong-hyun, died Dec. 18 after being discovered unconscious at an apartment in Seoul. Nine, the singer's friend and a musician for Dear Cloud, later shared a message that Jonghyun asked her to post in the event of his death.

"I am broken from inside," the K-pop star said in his note. "The depression that had been slowly eating me up finally devoured me and I couldn't defeat it."

SHINee last released the Japanese album Five in January 2017. The group's agency, SM Entertainment, released a new digital single featuring Jonghyun and other artists in December following the singer's death.